Wheeled baby walkers assist a baby who is unable to walk or crawl to become mobile sooner than otherwise is possible. However, when using presently available walkers, the infant often becomes able to stand and reach dangerous objects which otherwise would be safely out of reach of a crawling infant. This creates new opportunities for choking or poisoning accidents, which accidents all parents are naturally extremely anxious to prevent.
Prior developments in this field may be generally illustrated by reference to the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 196,730 J. Wick Oct. 30, 1877 162,153 I. Clark Apr. 21, 1875 658,126 D. Settlemyre Sep. 18, 1900 1,576,501 V. Bibo Mar. 16, 1926 3,874,690 B. Marrone Apr. 01, 1975 1,139,762 A. Hellfritzsch May 18, 1915 71,397 C. Loring et al. Nov. 26, 1867 1,298,053 H. Kennedy Mar. 25, 1919 2,244,096 J. Brazell Jun. 03, 1941 ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. Nos. 196,730 and 162,153 teach baby walkers with open-wall perimeter rings. Such rings do not provide the type of protection afforded by the closed-wall barriers herein proposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,576,501 shows a clam-shell hood for a baby carriage which is used as a storm cover. While this may incidentally prevent a baby from reaching outward, the carriage is not a device which the baby can move by itself to dangerous areas.
The rest of these patents are representative of what is in the art.